In The Arms Of The Ocean
by Sofaloaf3
Summary: Everyone wants to figure out their purpose in life before they die in order to find peace. When 17 year old Jessalynn gets reaped in the Hunger Games, will she die without finding her purpose in life, or will she emerge a victor? But what's the point of winning if she has nothing left to live for?


**Hey guys this is Sophie. This is one of my first fanfictions, so please leave a comment and I will post the next chapter right away!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the hunger games, but I do own this story and all of the characters in it.**

_"Do you think she would be proud of me?" I asked._

_"Your mother loved you more than anything in the entire world princess," Grams said," she would be so proud of you."_

_I looked out into the ocean as we walked on the beach, collecting hibiscus flowers. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was soothing. _

_"I wish that I could see her again, to tell her that I love her," I said. _

_"One day you will princess, but first you must live your life, that's what she would want," Grams said._

I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling, like I had been for several hours. I slept for two hours at the most, but I didn't feel tired. I sat up, causing the mattress springs to emit a screeching sound. Cringing a little, I reached over to the flimsy lamp on the bedside table and switched it on. I looked to my right, at the empty space on the bed. Feeling a wave of pain wash over me once again, reached my hand over and touched the pillow to find it harshly cold. I got up to look out of the window and saw the sun starting to rise in the horizon.

I put on the only dress I have, which was a white lace dress that comes just below my knees that used to be my mothers. I pulled my long hair into a pony tail, it was too curly to try to style it. I looked into a small mirror at my reflection and barely recognized myself. My hair was a light brown, but the sun has bleached strips of golden blonde into it. I looked into the sharp blue eyes of my reflection and saw a crying young girl.

I was very good at hiding pain, then again so is anyone who lost everyone that they love. Another part to it may be that I hated attention. Sighing, I turned away from the mirror. I left the small, creaky house and walked down to the beach. Flipping my sandals off, I sighed as I felt the cool sand in between my toes. I walked down to the clear, blue water and stood so that the water splashed against my feet. The sun shined down on my face, making me feel perfectly content as the wind blew on my pale legs.

This, in my opinion, was the definition of paradise. The cool breeze and the warmth of the sun was the perfect combination to make you feel like you were floating away on a cloud. My paradise, however, was short lived because I heard the chiming of the bell indicating that the reaping ceremony would start in fifteen minutes. Sighing, I put my sandals back on and walked down to the town square, which was only five minutes away. When I got there, I signed in and then headed over to the area where the seventeen year old girls stood.

I stuck out like a sore thumb. When my grandmother died last year, I dropped out of school to work at the docks so that I could live on my own. Because of this, I lost almost all connections with people my age. The only person that I could consider a friend was my boss, who I was pretty sure only talked to me because he pitied me. I was basically a loner.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," our escort, Dafilia, said, knocking me out of my reverie. I zoned out as they played the film about the war and how Panem was created. "Now," Dafilia said, "It's time to select our tributes for the 44th annual Hunger Games. As usual, ladies first." Dafilia walked over to the glass bowl of the female tributes, causing her blue pyramid of hair to wobble as she did so. I prayed in my head that I wont get picked. My name is in there eighteen times due to taking tesserae.

"Jessalynn Pierre," Dafilia said.

I felt all of my blood rush out of my face. I was sort of expecting someone to volunteer, but no one did. The crowd parted for me as I walked up to the stage with my face blank.

"Alright, now we move on to the boys," she said. She walked over to the other glass bowl and picked out a card. "Rocco Cadwell.'

A boy that looked to be about thirteen was walking towards the stage with a scared look on his face until someone yelled "I volunteer!" a boy, no, man that had to be eighteen walked up onto the stage.

"What is your name, dear," Dafilia said.

"Nikolai Fisher," he said.

"And why did you volunteer?" Dafilia asked.

"Because I am going to win."

"Ladies and gentlemen, our tributes from district four!" Dafilia said, "please shake hands."

Nikolai and I shook hands, and the look in his eyes said that he wanted to kill me.

**Please leave a comment and stay tuned for the next chapter! Thanks for reading!**


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